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wander9077 OP t1_iy4voso wrote

The World Health Organization said Monday that it would begin referring to monkeypox as mpox in an effort to reduce stigma around the virus.

Both names will be used simultaneously for a year while moneypox is phased out.

The new name was chosen after the WHO launched a public consultation process earlier this year.

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gregs1020 t1_iy4ywtb wrote

were the monkey's offended?

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JennJayBee t1_iy50qig wrote

Firstly, that's not as catchy, and I can already hear people saying, "Mmm... Pox!" Pox M might be slightly better.

Second, I don't really see how a rebrand isn't going to reduce stigma. It's the same virus, and people who were misinformed as to how it's transmitted from the very beginning are still going to be misinformed.

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grandmawaffles t1_iy53j9y wrote

Mpox, ba duba dop Ba du bop, ba duba dop Ba du bop, ba duba dop Ba du, oh yeah

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AudibleNod t1_iy53mhl wrote

Here's my solution for all this renaming, which doesn't help with public awareness. We do what the World Meteorological Organization does for hurricanes and name diseases in advance. That way places like China, or Ebola or Spain aren't unnecessarily maligned. The WHO can classify flus, respiratory viruses, poxes and other maladies then draw up a list of names not based off of geography and that are vetted so no appearance of stigma is apparent from the name.

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thefugue t1_iy54vkq wrote

I think ease of recall is also a factor in making these decisions- if people can’t remember what something is called they’re not going to develop behaviors to mitigate the threat of it.

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Beautiful_Fee1655 t1_iy5968m wrote

Next up: Chickens start mass protests, demanding their special disease be renamed as "cpox".

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spinereader81 t1_iy5e3g9 wrote

Mpox looks like a file extension you'd need to download an obscure program to open.

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grimace24 t1_iy5iigw wrote

I wonder how long it took them to come up with mpox?

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ThatOneKrazyKaptain t1_iy5qy9f wrote

Just FYI, they legally aren't the ones who control the naming. That's the ICVT. WHO is changing the name THEY use. Other health groups like the CDC haven't yet, and until the ICVT does it's still technically Monkeypox.

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Gurudee t1_iy5sl9w wrote

That reminds me. What happened to Hanson?

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daboot013 t1_iy6a1np wrote

Mmmmkayyy Mmmkay Mkay Monkay

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DonJuanDodda t1_iy6axoq wrote

Out of curiosity, how can I avoid getting monkeypox?

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aktivate74 t1_iy6brj7 wrote

Sounds like what I would name Android Box product

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EvenHair4706 t1_iy7fn1r wrote

Mmmpox, ba duba dop Ba du bop, ba duba dop Ba du bop, ba duba dop Ba du, oh yeah Mmmpox, ba duba dop

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pfortuny t1_iy7ku34 wrote

Mom, why is it called mpox?

I cannot tell you, it is illegal.

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